Sports briefs

Aspen local Tiernan wins Steamboat ultraEarlier this month, Aspen local Zeke Tiernan said he just wanted to finish his first ultra marathon.He did just that Saturday in Steamboat Springs, completing the 50-mile course of the inaugural Run Rabbit Run. He also won the whole race – crossing the finish line a full seven miles ahead of the next runner, Charles Corfield of Los Altos, Calif.Tiernan finished the run from the base of Mount Werner to the base of Rabbit Ears Peak and back in eight hours and five minutes, good for 9.6-minute splits.The longest distance the 32-year-old Aspen native had run competitively before Saturday was a marathon three years ago.”Ever since high school, whether it’s a blessing or a curse, I like to be in the lead,” said Tiernan, in an interview with the Steamboat Pilot and Today. “I saw someone behind me at the second aid station and kicked it into competitive overdrive.”Tiernan, a former All-American distance runner at the University of Colorado, also spied a moose while jogging by Long Lake.Tiernan trained for the Run Rabbit Run to see how his body would handle running 50 miles. His long-term goal is to complete the Leadville Trail 100 in August.Snowmass Village local wins Lead King LoopSuzanne Richman was the top female finisher at Sunday’s Lead King Loop 25-kilometer trail run in Marble, in 2 hours, 33 minutes and six seconds.Richman finished 14th overall in the talented 41-runner field. The second- and third-place female finishers were Shawn Carstensen-Hays of Grand Junction (2:41:26) and Sue Jacobsen of Carbondale (2:42:52).Silt’s Bernie Boettcher took second overall, losing a sprint to the finish line to 22-year-old John Gaudette of Denver.Gaudette broke the tape at 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 37 seconds, edging Boettcher by a mere 3 seconds.Potato Day Tater and Fossil Trot in CarbondaleThe Potato Day Tater and Fossil Trot 5K and 1-mile run takes place Sept. 29 in Carbondale.The races benefit Carbondale Senior Housing and Carbondale Youth Soccer.Race-day registration is available at 7 a.m. at the race’s start at Hendrick Ranch’s soccer field.The $20 entry fee includes a T-shirt. An awards ceremony and a raffle drawing will follow the race.Racers also can pre-register at the Red Rock Diner in Carbondale until Sept. 28.